101020 University Symphony Orchestra program

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC Presents

THE UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Alexander Jiménez, music director and conductor

Featuring Marcía Porter, soprano Jeffrey Springer, tenor Jonathan Gannon, horn

Saturday, October 10, 2020 Seven-thirty in the Evening Ruby Diamond Concert Hall

PROGRAM Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings Prologue Pastoral (Cotton) Nocturne (Tennyson) Elegy (Blake) Dirge (Anonymous) Hymn (Jonson) Sonnet (Keats) Epilogue

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)

Jeffrey Springer, tenor Jonathan Gannon, horn — Pause — Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 I. Cantilena

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) Marcía Porter, soprano USO Cellos — Pause —

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36 Adagio molto–Allegro con brio Larghetto Scherzo Allegro molto

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting while performers are playing. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Please turn off cell phones and all other electronic devices. Please refrain from putting feet on seats and seat backs. Children who become disruptive should be taken out of the performance hall so they do not disturb the musicians and other audience members.

Thank you for your cooperation.

MUSIC DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR Alexander Jiménez serves as Professor of Conducting, Director of Orchestral Activities, and String Area Coordinator at the Florida State University College of Music. He has served on the faculties of San Francisco State University and Palm Beach Atlantic University. He has degrees from Baylor University (BM) and the Florida State University (MM, MME, and DM). Jiménez studied with Phillip Spurgeon, Michael Haithcock, and the late Anton Guadagno. As a former percussionist and timpanist, he studied with Gary Werdesheim, Larry Vanlandingham, Keiko Abe, and Cloyd Duff.

Under his direction the FSU Orchestras have continued their long tradition of excellence. Both the undergraduate University Philharmonia and the University Symphony Orchestra under Dr. Jiménez have championed new music and collaborated with such composers as Krzysztof Penderecki, Martin Bresnick, Anthony Iannaconne, Christopher Theofanidis, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, and Ladislav Kubik. In 2007 the USO was featured in the PBS special Peanuts Gallery® which was awarded Best Performance of 2007 by the National Educational Telecommunications Association. Jiménez has recorded with the Mark, CBC/Ovation, Col Legno, Neos, and Naxos labels. In 2016 the USO was chosen as the featured orchestra at the National Conference of the American String Teachers Association.

Jiménez is active as a guest conductor, teacher, and adjudicator throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, where he has appeared in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Israel. Since 2009 he has served on the international jury panel of the European Festival of Music for Young People in Neerpelt, Belgium, and in 2013 was named International Festival Ambassador.

Dr. Jiménez is in demand conducting honor and all-state orchestras throughout the U.S. and is conductor of the Blue Lake Arts Camp Festival Orchestra. In Tallahassee, he appears regularly as guest conductor of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and served as the music director of the Tallahassee Youth Orchestras from 2000-2017.

Dr. Jiménez is a past president of the College Orchestra Directors Association. He holds memberships in the College Orchestra Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education, the Florida Orchestra Association, and the League of American Orchestras.

TONIGHT’S FEATURED PERFORMERS Award-winning soprano Marcía Porter made her New York solo recital debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2005. An active recitalist, the soprano has performed in numerous venues throughout the United States, Italy, Brazil, and the Czech Republic. Porter has sung at such prestigious international festivals as the Prague Proms, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the Ravinia Festival, and the Ameropa International Chamber Music Festival. She has performed with such national and international organizations as the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, Beijing International Symphony Orchestra (Beijing, China) and the Camerata Filarmonica Bohemia (Prague, Czech Republic). Porter has also performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera, Dayton Opera, and Chicago Opera Theatre. Ms. Porter’s discography includes the 2011 world premier recording of Requiem für Mozart, works for soprano and orchestra by Antonio Rosetti, released by the German record label Ars Produktion, and the 2013 recording Open Thine Heart, a recording of contemporary American vocal works released by Albany Records.

A Fulbright Scholar and Rotary International Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar, Ms. Porter has won several other awards and honors including the 2004 National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Artist Award Competition, the NATS Intern program, finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Central Regional Competition, Jessye Norman Graduate Fellowship in Voice, Opera Carolina Young Artist Recital Program Award, and the Farwell Award. In 2011-2012 Porter was a Fulbright Scholar to Brazil. Her research was entitled “Bridging boundaries through musical collaboration and cultural exchange: a lecture and recital series of contemporary classical Brazilian and African American vocal literature.” During her residency at the Universidade de São Paulo, she presented numerous recitals, lectures and masterclasses in cities throughout Brazil including São Paulo, Campinas, Alphaville, Ribeirão Preto and Brasilia.

Dr. Porter is a Professor of Voice at the Florida State University College of Music.

She is a much sought after clinician and has presented masterclasses throughout the mid-western and southeastern US. She has served on the faculty of Ameropa International Chamber Music Festival in Prague, Czech Republic and as a visiting Professor of Voice at Universidade de São Paulo. A graduate of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, Dr. Porter received the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in voice performance from Northwestern University. Dr. Porter earned

the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance from The University of Michigan, where she studied with world-renowned Metropolitan Opera singer Shirley Verrett. Previous teachers include Margaret Harshaw, Carmen Mehta, and Kathleen Kaun.

Assistant Professor of Voice Jeffrey Springer, tenor, has performed across Europe, Asia and North America in theaters such as the Chicago Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Cincinnati Opera, Arizona Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Manitoba Opera, as well as the German National Theater in Mannheim, Krefeld, Mönchengladbach, and Magdeburg in Germany, National Touring Opera of the Netherlands, Opéra de Nantes in France, and Spain’s Teatro de Navarra, among many others.

Very active on the concert stage, Dr. Springer has appeared with leading orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Houston Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, The Grand Teton’s Music Festival, Kentucky Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, the Florida Orchestra, Philharmonia Hungaria, and Romanian State Symphony. Recently, he performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Japan with the Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn, Germany, and the tenor solos in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Bangkok Symphony in Thailand.

Operatic engagements have included Samson in Samson & Dalila with the Dublin International Opera Festival; Tristan in Tristan und Isolde at Lyric Opera of Chicago under Sir Andrew Davis; Faust in La Damnation de Faust with the San Francisco Opera; Calaf in Turandot for the Florida Grand Opera and Opera Lyra Ottawa; Manrico in Il Trovatore for the Michigan Opera Theater, Connecticut Opera, Capitol Theater Magdeburg, Unified Theaters of Krefeld & Mönchengladbach; Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Orlando Opera; and Cavaradossi in Tosca for Minnesota Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Capitol Opera Magdeburg, Würzburg (Germany) Opera, Stadttheater Giessen, and the Chattanooga Opera & Symphony, among others.

Recent performances have included Calaf/Turandot with the Kentucky Symphony, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Roanoke Symphony, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos for Indiana University, and an appearance with Opera Tampa in the concert, “Coppola Conducts: 100 Years Young,” singing Calaf in the world premiere of his new ending to Puccini’s Turandot and reprising the role he created, Sacco, in an abridged performance of Sacco and Vanzetti. The gala

featured the renowned composer conducting his own works on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

Springer is the winner of the Concours International de Chant de Festival Atlantique in Nantes, France, the José Carreras Prize in Pamplona, Spain, and the Third Prize in the Concours International de Chant in Toulouse, France. He is a recipient of career grants and awards from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Wagner Societies of New York and Washington D.C. Springer received Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the Indiana University School of Music, and recently received the Doctoral degree in voice performance from the Catholic University of America.

Dr. Jonathon Gannon currently teaches applied horn at Florida A&M University, serves as Third Horn of the Tallahassee Symphony, and Associate Principal Horn of the Mobile Symphony. Dr. Gannon also performs regularly with numerous orchestras in the Florida Panhandle and has performed in Italy and the Dominican Republic. As a soloist, Dr. Gannon has appeared with the Florida State University Wind Orchestra and the Florida State University Chamber Winds. Dr. Gannon has been a semi-finalist at the International Horn Competition of America, as well as the winner of the Midsouth Horn Workshop’s graduate solo competition and the Southeast Horn Workshop’s solo and high-horn excerpt competition. Dr. Gannon holds degrees from Florida State University and University of MissouriColumbia.

NOTES ON THE PROGRAM Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings The first half of the twentieth century in British music belonged to the likes of Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan-Williams, and Gustav Holst, to name a few. These giants put Great Britain back on the international musical map by channeling the golden period of English music from the Tudor era together with a renewed interest in English folk music. By the 1930s, however, British composers began to look to the future, an evolution in English composition led by Benjamin Britten.

Britten’s interest in orchestral song-cycles was motivated, in part, by his relationship with the English tenor, Peter Pears. The Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings frames six English poems by noted English poets within a Prologue and an Epilogue for unaccompanied horn. Britten was inspired to write a virtuoso horn part after hearing the renowned English horn player, Dennis Brain. Britten was taken by Brain’s technical mastery and impeccable musicianship.

– Alexander Jiménez Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for Soprano and Cellos The music of Heitor Villa-Lobos almost always reflected his two loves: Brazilian culture and the music of J. S. Bach. Born in Rio de Janiero, he was a proud Brazilian, fascinated by his country’s history and culture. And, ever since receiving the gift of some preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier from his aunt as a child, Villa-Lobos had been captivated by Bach’s style and technique. His best-known compositions, a set of nine suites for various combinations of instruments and (sometimes) voices, called Bachianas Brasileiras reflect both of these influences.

The fifth suite, for solo soprano and an ensemble of eight cellos, is, by far, the most performed of the set. It was written in 1938 and falls in two movement, the first of which is featured on this program. That “Cantilena,” as Villa-Lobos called it, begins with a vocalise for the soprano, accompanied by the cello ensemble.

After presenting the wordless melody, the soprano then sings a brief, declamatory setting of a poem by Ruth Corrêa that describes the moon rising in the sky. A reprise of the vocalise, now with the vocalist instructed to sing the melody “with mouth closed” brings the movement to a haunting, memorable close. © Jonathan Blumhofer

Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36 Beethoven’s first two symphonies are often seen as an artistic unity. Cheerful and happy in tone, classical in form and demeanor, they represent the best that the composer could achieve before he really found his own voice. Or so the story often goes, especially since that voice is so powerfully expressed in the composer’s next symphony, the epochal “Eroica.”

It is hard for us today to remember that Beethoven’s contemporaries found the second symphony both challenging and somewhat forbidding. “A level of difficulty... unlike any symphony that has ever been made known.” “Powerful, fiery...colossal...” “A work full of new, original ideas, of great power.” These were some of the comments that this music provoked at its earliest performances. It was also frequently found “strange,” “shrill,” and “bizarre.” It is clear that many audiences were puzzled by the piece, and that its first performers were not always prepared to meet its challenges.

In short, when the Bureau of Arts and Industry published this symphony in 1804, it was new music, in the best sense. Its rich instrumentation, its extravagant size, and its often mocking spirit marked it out as a work to be reckoned with, by a composer whose growing international reputation allowed him to get away with things that a lesser man could not.

It is important to remember these facts if we are to hear this music today in terms of War, Resistance, Reconciliation and Hope. At the time he wrote this work, in 1802, Beethoven was involved in a poignant internal battle that mirrored the growing turmoil of Napoleonic Europe. His famous “Heiligenstadt Testament” is an intensely private that has become once of the cornerstones of the Beethoven legend. Addressing his two brothers, the composer acknowledges his growing deafness and his yearning for death. In words that resonate with the selfconsciousness of the modern artist, Beethoven asserts that he has chosen to live a life of suffering so that he can continue to respond to the creative urge.

Does the symphony tell a different story, as is often suggested? Or can we still hear it today as a work of brilliance and self-assertion, in which the composer’s will to create becomes a powerful end in itself, brushing aside the conventions of the 18th century symphony with arrogant indifference? This is exactly what Beethoven’s contemporaries heard, and they found it both startling and provocative. Let us listen tonight with their ears.

– Robin Wallace

University Symphony Orchestra Personnel Alexander Jiménez, Music Director Kyara Nelsen, Assistant Conductor

Violin I Sommer Altier Amanda Frampton Claudia Holm Hannah MacLean‡ Chloe Johnson Michael Klyce Zoe Kushubar Bryce Martin Diana Sanchez Katherine Taylor

Viola Justin Castro Zoe Fernandez Matthew Holzaepfel* Andrew Rafferty Hunter Sanchez* Cassandra Ziegler

Cello Riley Beranek* Amber Den Exter* Brittni Leigh Dixon Violin II Carly Fulcher Angel Andres Rachel Gregory MaryKatherine Brown Erica Kremer Alexandra Huryn Aric Lee Darrian Lee Giancarlo Ortiz Tekla Mendez Curtis Shugart Madeline Miller Juliet Schreiber Bass Megumi Terry* Joseph Bauer* James Watts Jonathon Cason Peter Casseday Logan Lysaght* Juan Rodriguez Nicholas Smentkowski

Flute Julia Evers Frederick Powell*

Trumpet James Popper* Zachary Price

Oboe Timpani Nicholas Kanipe* Chase Banks Luis Gallo Quintero Orchestra Manager Clarinet Sabrina DeVos Kelli Ray Jin Yun* Librarians Kyara Nelsen Bassoon Nathan Haines Alexandra Johnson* Robert Root Administrative Assistant Horn Willow Larson Xander Hellhake Brianna Nay*

‡ Concertmaster * Principal

UNIVERSITY MUSICAL ASSOCIATES 2019-2021 Drs. Charles and Sharon Aronovitch * Tom Denmark Avon and Louie Doll Patrick and Kathy Dunnigan Maximilian and Gale Etschmaier Kevin and Suzanne Fenton Fred and Linda Hester Glenn Hosken

Gold Circle Jelks Family Foundation * Emory and Dorothy Johnson * Bob Parker Jerry and Ann Price * Charles and Persis Rockwood Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Francis and Karen Skilling Bret Whissel

Benefactors * Tom and Cathy Bishop Michael and Judy Sheridan Karen Bradley Dr. James C. and Elizabeth Smith * Jimmie and Donna Callaway Michael and Jennifer Thrasher DeLos F. DeTar Bill and Sally Wendt Richard Dusenbury and Kathi Jaschke * Teresa Beazley Widmer John and Mary Geringer Marilynn Wills COL Reid Jaffe and Ms. Susan Z. Cornwell Kathy D. Wright Claire Kelly Lifetime Members Les and Ruth Ruggles Akers Sally and Fred Kreimer John and Willa Almlof Beverly Locke-Ewald Florence Helen Ashby Ralph and Sue Mancuso Mrs. Reubin Askew Meredith and Elsa L. McKinney Nancy Bivins Ermine M. Owenby Ramona D. Bowman Mike and Judy Pate André and Eleanor Connan Jane Quinton Russell and Janis Courson David D. Redfield * Ginny Densmore Laura and Sam Rogers, Jr. Nancy Smith Fichter and Robert W. Fichter Connie Sauer-Adams and Len Adams Stan and Carole Fiore Jean T. Souter Patricia J. Flowers Drs. Louis and Julia St. Petery Jane E. Hughes Sharon Stone Hilda Hunter Elaine Swain Julio Jiménez Catherine Tharpe Kirby W. and Margaret-Ray Kemper Brig. Gen. and Mrs. William B. Webb Patsy Kickliter Rick and Joan West Anthony M. and Mallen E. Komlyn John L. and Linda M. Williams

Corporate Sponsors Beethoven & Company Peter Boulware Toyota

Business Sponsors WFSU Public Broadcast Center

Sustainers Kathryn M. Beggs * Marc and Kathryn Hebda James and Rochelle Davis Greg and Margo Jones Floyd Deterding and Kelley Lang Annelise Leysieffer Diane and Jack Dowling * Lisa and John Rutledge Grady Enlow and June Dollar Dr. Gayle and Dr. Douglass Seaton William Fredrickson and Suzanne Rita Byrnes Denise Von Glahn and Michael Broyles Larry Gerber

Sponsors Joyce Andrews Tom and Christine Ballinger Patricia and Buddy Barker Marty Beech Greg and Karen Boebinger John and Eileen Boutelle Kathryn Karrh Cashin Pete and Bonnie Chamlis Causseaux-Young Robert and Linda Clickner Malcolm Craig Jim and Sandy Dafoe Margaret and Russ Dancy Joy and James Frank Bryan and Nancy Goff John and Pat Goldinger Marylee and Tina Haddon Louis V. and Kathryn T. Hajos Ocie and JoElla Harris Myron and Judy Hayden Dottie and Jon Hinkle Todd Hinkle Jonathan Jackson and Greg Springer

Alexander and Dawn JimÊnez Alan R. Kagan, MD Howard Kessler and Anne Van Meter Dennis G. King, Esq. Jeff and Nancy Lickson Linda and Bob Lovins William and Gayle Manley Helen and Tom Martineau Robert and Patricia McDonald Frank and Francesca Melichar Walter and Marian Moore Ann W. Parramore Robert and Caryl Pierce JoAnne and David Rasmussen Stephen and Elizabeth Richardson Dottie Roberts and Doug Bruce Ken and JR Saginario Annelise Sapp Bill and Ma’Su Sweeney Susan and Stephen Turner David and Jane Watson Michael and Patricia Wilhoit Candy and Barbara Williams

Don Beeckler Norma T. Benton Mary S. Bert Carl and Marcia Bjerregaard Paul and Alice Blackhall Kip and Joan Carpenter Adele Cunningham Mrs. Joseph C. D’Annunzio Pamala J. Doffek John S. and Linda H. Fleming Nicole Folkert Dr. Fred Frank L. Kathryn Funchess Bruce and Luisa Gillander Ruth Godfrey-Sigler Julie Griffith Jerry and Bobbi Hill Anne R. Hodges Sally and Lincoln Jarrett Judith H. Jolly J.F. and Barbara Jones Frances Kratt / Judith Flanigan John and Marty Larson Donna Legare and Jody Walthall Joan Macmillan Alan and Marilyn Marshall Emoryette McDonald Michael and Joanne Mendez Mike and Pat Meredith

Patrons Ann and Don Morrow Drs. William C. Murray and Toni Kirkwood-Tucker Albert and Darlene Oosterhof Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Palmer Chris and Cyndi Panzarino Ann E. Parker Karalee Poschman and Jana Sterling Gloria Priest Penny Ralston and Chester Davis Amy Recht Edward Reid Nancy Stone Ross John and Carol Ryor Paula S. Saunders Jeanette Sickel Carey Smith Pat St. Angelo Richard Stevens Lee and Ramona Stewart Judy and Mike Stone James Streem George and Jackie Sweat Marjorie Turnbull Dr. Ralph V. Turner Paul Van Der Mark Sylvia B. Walford Geoffrey and Simone Watts Art Wiedinger

Associates Sam and Norma Adams Jayme Agee Victoria Alberton Patricia Applegate Jim and Kitty Ball Karl and Melissa Barton Hillman and Lin Brannon Harriet R. Chase Margaret A. Chase David and Mary Coburn Carla Connors and Timothy Hoekman Joan and Dave Custis Dr. Bob Cutlip * J. W. Richard Davis David Dickel John Dozier and Martha Paradeis Sena and Jody Finklea Betty Foltz Gigi Foster and Betty Serow Dr. Nancy Fowler Mildred L. Fryman and W. V. McConnell Jean Fuller Debbie Gibson Laura L. Glenn Deborah W. Glotzbach Harvey and Judy Goldman Sue Graham Margarita H. Grant Mary Anne Gray and Marcia Humphress Brenda Grindstaff and Steven Ferst Miriam R. Gurniak Mary Stuart Hartmann Donna H. Heald Madeleine Hirsiger-Carr Karolyn Holmes O. Dean Kindley Joseph Kraus Sylvia and John Labie Charles and Dian LaTour

Ellen Lauricella William and Debora Lee John D. Lucasse Daniel and Arlene MacDonald Jerry and Terri Mast Jerry V. McBee Lealand and Kathleen McCharen Mr. and Mrs. Joe McGlothlin Leo L. Minasian, Jr. Marjorie M. Morgan Deborah Morningstar and Max Thompson The National Orchestral Association Karen Randolph Robert Reardon / Janet Lenz David Reed Mark and Cynthia Repasky George Riordan and Karen Clarke Sanford Safron Drs. David and Winnie Schmeling Gerry Shubrick Sudarat Songsiridej and Mary Schaad Alice Spirakis Ted and AndrĂŠa Stanley Rick and Carole Stewart Joyce and Joe Toman Park and Linda Trammell C. Richard and Phrieda L. Tuten Steve Urse Vic and Mary Helen Venos Stephan von MolnĂĄr Scott and LaDonna Wagers Tom and Janie Weis Karen Wensing Erin Werner Adelaide Whitaker Barbara Wood Jeff Wright Doug Wussler

*University Musical Associates Executive Committee

The University Musical Associates is the community support organization for the FSU College of Music. The primary purposes of the group are to develop audiences for College of Music performances, to assist outstanding students in enriching their musical education and careers, and to support quality education and cultural activities for the Tallahassee community. If you would like information about joining the University Musical Associates, please contact Kim Shively, Director of Special Programs, at kshively@fsu.edu or 644-4744.

The Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five business days prior to a musical event if accommodation for disability or publication in alternative format is needed.